Books by Stenhouse, John

New Zealand is often portrayed as a secular society, but look at the depth of feeling stirred up in recent years by the 'Virgin in a Condom' controversy, or the Hikoi of Hope. These incidents remind us that religion continues to play a significant and sometimes controversial role in the politics and culture of modern New Zealand. The relationship between religion and politics is the topic of God & Government: The New Zealand Experience, edited by Rex Ahdar and John Stenhouse, both of the University of Otago. Drawing on the expertise of scholars in a number of disciplines, this volume explores church-state relations in contemporary New Zealand, with a glance back to the past.

Although New Zealand historians have tended to pay little attention to the role of religions in this country's past, the essays in this collection show that religious beliefs have had an important historical influence on our society.